LIFE IS EGNARTS
by J.Steele
Summary: ?eil a si wonk uoy tahW There is something very strange going on here. What year is it? 2076 in Arcadia Bay? What happened? Max awakens as a much older version of herself and meets her grandchild (for the first time) and is uncertain about what happened to Arcadia Bay in her youth, or everyone she knew in it; including Chloe.
1. Prologue: smaerD nahT regnartS

**LIFE IS EGNARTS**

" _Being enlightened is no longer enough; you must apply. Being willing is no longer acceptable. You must do._

 **Make it count** _ **."**_ **-** Ryan Daniel Montgomery

 **Prologue:** smaerD nahT regnartS

 **October 7** **th** **, 2076 – Arcadia Bay**

The long drive from Los Angeles was well worth it for the young couple seeking tranquility. The beauty of Arcadia Bay had been untouched by time for many decades, and maintained its old-time appearance despite the advancements in technology. That was one of many qualities that attracted the couple, a young man and woman, to the town. However, the female in the passenger side had an age-old connection to Arcaida Bay that dated back several decades. Her mother and her grandmother were from the bay, and this was more of a homecoming for her than anything else.

She was a bright student with a passion for painting. She enjoyed putting her paintbrush to the canvas with short effortless strokes, much like the brunette kept her hair. She dressed in vibrant colors that were nearly as bright as her blue eyes, and often times the brightness she brought into any room she walked into. Freckles were sparse across her cheeks and the bridge of her small nose, as well as across the top of her chest. She was the spitting image of 'plain' as some people said, but that never got her down. All she needed was the love and support of her boyfriend Ray, and her College goals laid out before her to have a happy life.

Even though she loved painting, perhaps it was the pinch of rebel in her that drew her toward a more graffiti style in her more recent works.

It felt like it was only yesterday she was last in Arcadia Bay. She was always there in her dreams. Always revisiting old friends and having full conversations and interactions that felt so real. She could never quite explain it when she tried to tell people. Her vivid dreams of Arcadia inspired her art, and often times gave her a glimpse into things she should not have known about her friends and family.

The long ride began to take its toll when the young woman began to doze off to sleep from the tranquil feeling of the vehicle cruising along the road with extremely light traffic making their journey easier than anything in Los Angeles.

When the car stopped, she heard Ray speak.

"We're here."

The girl perked up immediately and took a deep breath through her nostrils. Her eyes were as wide as a doe's in the headlights when she looked over to her grandmother's house. The front porch was vacant for once, as she was so used to the elderly woman sitting and watching the squirrels.

"Sorry…I…kind of dozed off." She said with a half chuckle.

Ray, her dark skinned boyfriend and aspiring director, smiled and reached over to place his hand over her shoulder. "Hey don't worry about it. We should get in before it gets too late. Your grandmother has a spare room right? Is it cool if we stay over?"

"She usually doesn't like company." The woman explained. "My mom's next door. She takes care of her…so it's fine if we crash there instead of here." All the while, the girl stepped out of the vehicle and looked up to the house. The chill of the air prompted her to fetch her white cotton jacket from the backseat of the car. "I just want to see her first."

"Is your dad around?" Ray asked while he got out of the car himself. He opened the back door soon after and fetched a box of two dozen donuts that he'd bought along the way. "I'm sure he'd love these. Unless granny has a sweet tooth?"

"He may be on patrol." She checked her wrist, and her watch's strap generated a thin glass-like panel that served as her phone's interface. "He hasn't flooded me with messages, so he must be at work. I hope he isn't still mad that I totaled my car…"

Ray walked around the car and stood beside her. "It's fine. Time heals all wounds, right? He'll forget it soon enough."

Silence fell over the freckled girl. Time healing all wounds was something she wasn't certain of…especially when she gazed upon her grandmother's house.

The girl walked onto the porch and let the memories rush past her mind. The two rocking chairs and the wooden table between them brought back fond memories of her childhood. There was a broken ape statue beneath the table that was missing an arm and its head that reminded her of a particular day where she was playing a little _too_ much.

 _("Wow, even after all these years…Monkey-Man is still broken. Grampa never did get around to fixing it. Granny was super pissed that I knocked it over. Still sorry…")_

Once her eyes left the rocking chairs, she settled her sights on a rock wedged beside the welcome mat. The girl squatted down and picked the rock up just enough to slide the spare key into her grasp.

 _("Ha! Mom strikes again! Thanks for the spare key…but granny really needs the Prescott card key system. So much safer…")_

Once she opened the door, the girl stepped inside the warm living room and found it vacant. Her grandmother was probably in bed, her grandfather was probably out shopping, and her mother was certainly not present. The next best option was to explore the house and make themselves at home.

The old woman's eyes opened and stared at the ceiling. It felt like an eternity since she last opened her eyes.

( _"Where am I?")_

She scanned around herself, but it felt difficult to move. Her body felt stiff, and she ached all over whenever she tried to move. What startled her the most wasn't her aged body, but the sound of rain falling increasingly hard after a few seconds of tranquility.

 _("Oh no…the tornado! It's coming soon! I've got to get out of here…somehow.")_

The door to her bedroom opened, and the spitting image of her youth walked in with a taller young man behind her. She seemed reluctant, but respectful of the elderly woman's rest.

"Grandma?" The girl spoke.

"Oh, hey…" The elderly woman sounded a bit confused.

 _("What the fuck is going on? What did I do? I…I totally fucked everything up…!")_

The elderly woman's thoughts were in total panic mode as her near perfect replica moved over to her bedside and pulled up a chair. "Grandma," the girl said with an excited smile. "This is Ray. I've talked about him with you a couple times. How are you feeling today?"

 _("God…what do I do? What is going on…?")_

The old woman was quiet. She looked back and forth between the two, and decided to play along…as best she could. "I'm…I'm doing great. Uh…" She lingered on the sentence and looked at her apparent granddaughter.

"Grandma Max, you remember my name don't you?"

Silence.

( _"What…I'm…her…grandma?")_

The girl smiled optimistically. The worry in her eyes was apparent, as she wanted her grandmother to get better.

Max's eyes loomed on the girl for several seconds, but she got a peek at the name woven into the jacket she wore. "Chloe." She said quietly. That name brought a sting to her heart and a smile to her face. "I could never forget you."

Truer words had never been spoken by a living being in quite a long time. It was so true that the old phrase about the truth hurting made Max wince.

"That's great!" Chloe kissed her grandmother's forehead. "Sorry to burst in on you like this. I figured Grampa would be home or something. But uh…I'm in town. For a while." She nodded as she spoke, with a jittery fingers on her knees. "The big city has become too much. It's kind of taken away from my creative process. Coming home sounded like a good idea."

"We brought treats, too!" Ray gave his best smile, hoping to win over Max with his enthusiasm if nothing else. "Unless you're not into that sort of thing. Can I get you anything?"

( _"I better go along with this. Maybe I can get back to where I was. Everything just…stopped. What's the last thing I saw…?")_

Max cleared her throat. "I'm fine. Thanks…Ray. Chloe, make yourself at home. 'Mi casa es su casa', as they say…"

"You're the best! Thanks. I promise we won't make a lot of noise," Chloe stood up and straightened herself out. "Do you mind if we use the spare bedroom? I promise not to make a mess with my paint…"

"It's fine. Really…I don't mind…" Max spoke quietly, feeling oddly familiar with the girl suddenly. "Chloe." She paused. "What year is it?"

"2076."

"Wow…" Reality sunk it's cold talons into Max's psyche. "…Did a tornado ever….hit Arcadia Bay?"

Silence befell the young couple. Chloe reached over and held her grandmother's hand gently. "You know we can't talk about that grandma. Mom says it's not healthy for you."

"Please," Max squeezed the girl's hand desperately. " _Please_ tell me if it happened. I need to know."

Chloe frowned deeply and exhaled. "Grandma…"

Ray interrupted eagerly. "Hey, we should…uh…" He motioned his thumb over his shoulder. "Get everything situated and get comfortable first, right? We will have plenty of time afterwards."

Chloe shifted her eyes to Ray then back to her grandmother. "Yeah…you're right." She smiled and stood slowly. "We'll talk later, okay? Get your rest…" She hesitated. "I love you. I promise we'll talk about this a little later."

As Chloe walked away to join her boyfriend, she couldn't help but think to herself. She went through all the motions of getting her stuff situated, but her mind was drifting.

( _"I hate keeping things from her. I can only imagine what it feels like…reliving that trauma. The story always changes…sometimes Ms. Chloe survives….sometimes Ms. Chloe dies. I can't help but feel like my mother named me after a fictional character. My mom believes grandma's stories about rewinding time…but …I just don't know…_

 _It feels like she's stuck in a crazy dream. Tortured by it. A lot like the dreams I… have.")_

Once Ray and Chloe were settled in, they both lay in one another's arms watching television with the volume down. Chloe's grandfather was going to be home any minute, but the two were very tired from their drive. A small nap was in order.

( _"A dream of darkness."_ )

(" _A dream where nothing survived here.")_

 **rebmeceD** **th** **12, 6666 – aidacrA yaB**

The entire city of Arcadia Bay was in ruins and mostly reclaimed by nature. The sky above was purple and dark with rapid moving clouds overhead. The streets were littered with abandoned cars and remains of destroyed homes. A massive hurricane stood frozen in time in the distance which Chloe assumed was the source of the occasional whistling of wind that blew past her ears.

 _("This is my dream. I don't like…bringing it up. The tornado is…not something I discuss anymore.")_

Whispers of the past, present, and future echoed through the nightmarish night draped in depressing gray and black colors. She stepped out into the middle of the street and faced down the foreboding swirl of chaos miles away from where she stood.

( _"This is where my paintings come from. Sometimes…it's inhabited…even while in ruins. No one ever…acknowledges it.")_

The world around her began to populate with ghostly figures from an unknown time as she walked the street. The ghosts lived their everyday lives and barely took notice of the girl walking through them.

( _"Maybe there's something I have to do. Something I have to fix? Why do I end up here sometimes…?")_

Even with the unknown facing her, Chloe roamed the streets of Arcadia's nightmarish world. Until she came across her only physical friend in it; an elderly homeless woman.


	2. On A Dark Desert Highway

"I spend every day showing people the power of history. But history only has the power you give it."  
― **Barry Meltzer**

 **Episode 1:** letoH aidacrA

 **Chapter 1:** On A Dark Desert Highway

"Lost nowhere with your eyes shut and your hands over your ears while you run." The old woman said as she sat against the remains of what looked like a trailer. "Haven't seen you in a while. I was starting to think you found your way out."

Looking at the woman was like looking in the mirror. For some reason it both terrified and gave Chloe comfort. She spoke her bleak news nonchalantly, "There is no way out. I tried to walk to the highway, but it gets foggy and…" She held her left forearm in her right hand nervously. "I end up back in the middle of town. You've been here a long time, what do I do Miss Ophelia?"

Ophelia's aged face formed a smile when her name was mentioned. "Chloe Geoffrey, you're really trying to butter me up aren't you? In a thousand years, you've only called me that when you're truly desperate for help."

Confusion sat upon Chloe's tongue as she spoke. "What do you mean? A thousand years?"

"You don't remember. That's a side effect." She shut her eyes and listened to the howl of the wind briefly. "We'll do business as usual, Chloe. Bring me my cereal, and I'll share something with you. Who knows…we may meet officially."

Chloe silently accepted her task. She left Miss Ophelia alone and wandered off into Arcadia Bay. She found her grandmother's house, though it looked vastly different. It was much smaller and constantly flickered from its past self to its present size until Chloe set her hand on the door. It froze in time and constructed itself to a full physical build.

Chloe paused when she heard an aged masculine voice echoing through her mind. "How can I tell her this?"

She knew the voice. She turned around and saw her grandfather sitting frozen in time out front in his car. His facial features alone, even from afar, told the tale of his disappointment.

Chloe was drawn away from the door and carefully walked beside the vehicle. Her hand phased through the window as she touched her grandfather's shoulder. She felt a rush of adrenaline and a cold sensation in her blood upon contact. The world around her exploded into a room of endless white and reconstructed itself as an office. There was a doctor now seated across from her grandfather and they were in the middle of a discussion.

"We think it's best for her if she's moved to an assisted living facility." The doctor said. "Her delusions are getting stronger. She needs around-the-clock assistance."

"They're not delusions." The old man sighed and leaned each elbow onto the desk. "Max is complicated. She's not sick, but she's not _well_ either. I can take care of her, because I know how to handle her behavior. I was there when it started."

"And…when did it start?" The doctor adjusted himself in his seat with his pen in hand to add new notes to his pile of information.

"2013." The old man sighed after he spoke. "No one else will believe her or me. She doesn't need medication, she needs me. She needs an anchor for this time period so her mind can stay in it."

"Mister Graham, with all due respect," The doctor spoke as calmly as he could. "A woman her age having delusions about time travel to her teenage years over, and over again needs serious help. We can't ignore this any further. Think of the damage it could be doing to her brain if—…"

"I know." The grandfather spoke grimly. " _I know_. It's going to kill her if she keeps going back to that exact moment in time. Reliving the stress, the sadness, the loss. I'm there with her…but unfortunately I don't have her ability." He went silent and narrowed his eyes on the doctor. "Married, right?" He motioned his head to the doctor's wedding ring. "How would you feel if you had to tell the woman you love that no matter what she does or tries to do, she can never accomplish her one life's goal. Ever."

"What is her life's goal, sir? This is important we know, for her mental health-…"

"To save everyone." Mr. Graham chuckled. "She's getting so close, now. Last we talked about her time travel, she let Chloe go. Acceptance is a good sign."

The world changed again, this time with the man hugging Max while standing. He squeezed her as if she would die if he let her go.

"I won't let them take you away from me. I'm here to help you until the very end." He whispered in her ear.

"Warren…" Max said quietly. "Thank you…"

"What happened this time?" Warren asked while remaining tight against his wife.

"Everyone is…gone. Chloe and I drove away…and I don't remember what happened next." Tears built up in the corners of her eyes. "Oh god… _Joyce_ …she…"

"The Price family isn't that cold." Warren explained. "Chloe wouldn't want you to sacrifice her mother for her. She wouldn't leave without looking for her. You know how painful it was for her to lose her father."

"But it happened. I was there. I remember…"

"If that's what you remember, that's what happened. I'm not going to upset you."

"Why hasn't anything changed? I…I fucked everything up, Warren. I have to go back. Back to Blackwell. "

"I'll be there. Waiting for you."

"I need to find the picture. I…I couldn't find the album." Max sobbed quietly. "I think I tore it…"

"We'll look for it tomorrow. Together."

"We have a grandchild. She's…in the other room"

"Grandma? Are you awake?" Chloe heard her own voice before the vision faded into dust. Once again, she found herself back in Arcadia Bay with her hand on her grandfather's shoulder. Once she pulled away, she turned toward the house.

( _"These visions…I never know if they're from the past…present…or future. But Arcadia Bay opens her mind to me. She lets me see what I need to see. She gives me a task I have to change. At least…I think.")_

Chloe entered the house and everything was as it was before…only frozen in time with everything rippling slowly as if submerged in water.

First, she found the spare room she and Ray were sleeping in. They looked so peaceful together, and it made her smile.

( _"He's a great guy…I hope he doesn't…feel like my family's too weird. I honestly don't know if I can go a day without him at this point. It's...just so hard to say that without feeling like a deer in the headlights. If love is blind…I'm seriously Matt Murdock right now.")_

She then turned her attention to herself.

 _("Sleeping peacefully. I can't help but look at myself and wonder if I should let my inner-artist out. Neon blue hair, tattoos, a few piercings…*sigh*…who am I fooling? I'm too afraid of needles.")_

She left the room and phased through her grandmother's door. She wasn't there, oddly. Chloe searched the house until she realized the attic door was opened. She entered the attic and found her grandmother sorting through a chest of her belongings. She seemed winded, but kept searching until she ultimately failed to find what she sought.

 _("She's looking for a photo album. Did that happen already?...Or is it about to happen soon? Maybe I can lend her a hand…")_

She left her grandmother for now, and traveled back downstairs. In the kitchen she found a particular brand of cereal her grandmother always kept around on top of the fridge. It was the kind Miss Ophelia wanted, for sure. 

No matter how her hand reached for it, she just passed through.

( _"Damn it…well. I'll have to try it the old fashioned way.")_

Chloe shut her eyes tightly, and within seconds, her physical body woke up. She carefully shimmied from her boyfriend's grasp and walked into the kitchen. She grabbed the box of cereal and quickly sat at the dining room table. With one hand on the box, she lay her head down on her curled arm and within a few seconds, she woke up standing beside her sleeping body.

She held a copy of the box in her hand, oddly enough, while the real version remained in reality.

(" _This doesn't work for very long. Everything I touch can only cross over for a few minutes. I have to hurry.")_

She raced out the door and found her way back to the old homeless woman's spot…only to find it totally vacant. She looked high and low, and circled the trailer time and time again for any sign of her…but all that she found in her place was a can of spray paint.

( _"What the hell…?")_

Chloe held the can and left the cereal box behind. She wandered into the trailer, which turned out to be an old diner of some sort. It was desolate inside. There was some graffiti inside the bathroom already— some in red paint that read:

"The 7th sign: The sea and sky will turn black, and living things will die because of it!"

The other was a doe near what appeared to be some of old-styled hand-drier.

( _"Well…if this is a tag station, I don't see why I shouldn't add my own flare."_ )

Chloe shook the can and began to spray along the bathroom wall. It felt like hours had passed before she finished. The spray bent to her will without a stencil, and helped her create a larger doe head portrait near the smaller one. Next to it, she tagged 'CHLOE WAS HERE' next to it. Maybe the old woman would see it whenever she felt like defacing desolate property, or so she assumed.

( _"I think I'll keep this mystical paint. A wizard doesn't just leave you a wand and you never use it.")_

With the old woman nowhere in sight, Chloe willed herself awake in the dining room. It was there that she heard her grandmother entering her bedroom carefully.

 **A Memory Has Changed**

Max, in her youth, left the Two Whales Diner bathroom and returned to find Chloe still sitting at their booth. Once Max sat, with her brow knitted and her lips slightly parted, she spoke low and with worry. "Dude, you spray-painted the bathroom?"

"What? No! Why the hell would I do that? – I mean, I haven't gotten that mad yet." Chloe entertained the thought, but she looked at Max with confusion. "Uh…what happened? What makes you think that?"

"I saw it, okay. I saw what you wrote in there, and it's…seriously good, but it's not cool to do that where your moms works." Max scolded. "What if Joyce sees that? How would she feel about it?"

"Okay, easy." Chloe held her hands up in defense. "I didn't spray anything. Can you show me what you're talking about, because clearly you think I'm fucking Picaso or something."

"Not Picaso, but…" She sighed in defeat. "I'll show you. Your name is even on it."

Once the two entered the bathroom, Max pointed directly at the Doe and the 'Chloe Was Here' tag. "See?"

Chloe stared at it, then looked all around the bathroom. "Max…?"

"Unless there's some kind of spray-tagger named Chloe around here…?"

Chloe gave Max a firm pat on the shoulder. "…The entire bathroom is uh…empty? So…I don't see a drop of spray paint _anywhere_." She backed out of the bathroom slowly. "It's probably a super-power side-effect? But screw it, dude. Let's talk about some serious shit. No more games, okay?"

Max stood in confusion. All of the graffiti she saw in there, and Chloe didn't see _one_ …?

Author Notes:

Welcome to my LIS fic! I'm trying to force myself out of my writer's block and this caught my eye. Let me know your thoughts so far, and feel free to ask any questions you'd like. I'll do my best to answer them either in inbox or in my next set of notes/chapter. I don't know how many episodes this may end up being, but I have a pretty good idea where I'm going with this!

Thanks for reading! Read & review, please!


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